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Posted by Dwight Sayers on April 06, 2002 at 09:57:08:
Just a little bit of info that I picked up from a old time snake collector in South Florida. He maintained that the best way to find indigos during the cooler months, was to pour a little gas into the frond base of mature cabbage palms. Apparently the trees generate enough heat in their core to keep temps from freezing. This old timer maintained that he had caught many couperi using this technique. I also asked him if he had ever found eggs, to which he answered no. He had however, found gravid females, mostly in March/April and May. He made a point of telling me that he always released the females. He also told me something interesting regarding gravid females. In his experience he maintained, that in South Fla. he had found alot of his females in areas adjacent to and in stands of Australian Pines and Hammocks with good Banyon tree growth. He realy seemed to think that the Australian Pines were good nesting sites. A large and deep root system which also involves fallen trees and a thick layer of pine needles. Areas like this produce numerous cavaties, mammal excavated burrows, and most importantly "constant cool temps". What do you think?? Food is also abundant in these pine tree stands. Good populations of lizards,yellowrats,redrats,racers and rodents. For anybody who has collected in Fla., these pine stands are a welcome retreat after walking around in the sun. I next asked this oldtimer, if he had ever found any neonate couperi. He laughed and said a few but not many. I then asked where he had found them and he said more often than not, in and around stands of Australian Pines. He stated that he had caught two babies curled up under a piece of plywood lying in the pine needles. Another favorite spot to find couperi for him were canal banks which again can provide numerous burrow, limestone cavaties and good sources for food. Another micro habitat for debate "Australian Pine stands" for populations of couperi in Southern Florida as possible retreats and egg laying sites. Oh by the way, the one baby indigo that I had the privilege of finding in 1980, was caught crawling at 10 am in the month of April on edge of a stand of australian pines. For those of you wondering, it was photographed and allowed to go on its way. It was the black variety with alittle white/orange on chin. Capture location was the southwest portion of south fla. Food for thought, Phil, Fred, Dean, Doug, and everbody else. Would love to here your thoughts/experiences. Oh, one other thing, in 1983 we found an adult male eastern crawling in a stand of pines in the general area near Janes senic drive in southwest fla. Time of year was June, again mid am.
All the best Dwight
